February 2008

SOLOMON

Drocella, twenty-two years old, was born in the province of Cyangugu and had lived by herself for the last three years attending a boarding school on the other side of the country in the town of Gisenyi. 

Drocella had a boyfriend and spent her free time with him.  One day Drocella noticed that something was happening in her body. She got scared when she realized what was going on. She was pregnant.  Her world fell to pieces, because she knew that in Rwanda getting pregnant out of wedlock would mean the total rejection of her and her baby by her family and society.  In a panic, Drocella stopped attending school and went to stay with a friend who lived close to Mugonero, a village by Lake Kivu.  She hid her pregnancy as best as she could, but as time when on it became harder and harder.  The delivery date was coming closer and closer, and Drocella went alone to Mugonero Hospital, about an hour and a half walk.  On February 28,

2006, Drocella gave birth to two male twins, Emmanuel and Solomon.  Just a few hours later, she unexpectedly bled to death, leaving her two little boys behind.  Nobody in the hospital was able to care for the twins, and her relatives had already rejected her and her babies. 

When I heard her story, an idea came to me.  We started the “Baby Project” with the help and support of friends in the Netherlands and around the world. We can provide now a home for these and many other babies like the twins who have been abandoned or orphaned until they become old enough at two years to be admitted to our orphanage.

We took Emmanuel and Solomon into our family and offered them a new home. Both were very tiny and weak. We did our best to provide them with a better life. But on May 13th, 2006, Emmanuel gave up the struggle and died.

Dear Solomon, you lost your Mum and little brother. Life up on the hills of Rwanda is indeed not easy at all. You suffer from asthma so even breathing is a struggle for you.  Little Solomon, do not give up. Fight with all your heart and mind. It is a great privilege to be alive. May the beauty and goodness of life shine in you and make you smile. May you grow into a strong, healthy and happy man. Very welcome to your new and better life.

Please help the children of Rwanda and contact us.

Victor Monroy, Director
L’Esperance Children’s Aid Rwanda
Children’s Village Kigarama
P.O. Box 5026 Kigali
Tel. 00250/08545731
Email: lesperancerwanda@aol.com
Web: www.lesperancerwanda.org
         www.victormonroytrust.com

February 2008: Beautiful Tiwala                                   

It is another rainy day on the hills of Rwanda.  The whole country is green and people are working hard cultivating the fields.  For Nyanzira Beatrice it will be another hard day.  Nyanzira is only 21 years old, but she is alone, mentally handicapped, and pregnant.

Her life has never been easy.  Nyrrahabimana, Nyanzira’s mother, was also mentally handicapped.  For many years as a child, she took little Nyanzira with her, begging everywhere they went.  Nyanzira learned to sleep under bushes, to find food in piles of garbage, to survive on the hills.  As a child, Nyanzira got used to the rejection, mockery, and loneliness that followed her everywhere she went.  Many times she saw kids playing in the market and longed to join them, but each time she approached, the kids would throw stones at her and shout, “Fool!  Foolish one!  Get lost!” 

When she was fourteen, Nyanzira lost her parents.  How could she survive alone as a mentally handicapped teenager in Rwanda? 

One rainy day, a group of drunk men took Nyanzira by force and gang raped her.  She tried to shout, to defend herself, but the drunk men were too strong and too many!  Nobody even noticed what was happening. 

Nyanzira spent several weeks at Mugonero Hospital waiting for her baby to be born. Finally on April 10, 2007, a beautiful little girl was delivered.  A wonderful end to a tragic story.

You, Beautiful Tiwala, have the chance to live.  You may look forward with confidence to your new life in our Baby Home with many brothers and sisters.  Confidence is exactly what your name means in Tagalog.  Unlike your mother, you will play with other children.  You will break the long chain of rejection, mockery, and loneliness.  May the goodness of life make you shine.  May you be a source of joy and happiness!  May you delight in the privilege of being a happy and healthy girl!  You are very welcome, Beautiful Tiwala!

February 2008

PETIT SAM                   
    
It was another hot day at Mugonero Market.  Marie Rose, a young 25-year-old woman, sat at her sewing machine and hoped that she would get some business that day.  But in spite of the hundreds of people coming from all around the region to the market, extremely few stopped at her stall.  With a lot of effort, she had managed to finish her two years of training as a tailor.  She also managed to buy an almost-new sewing machine, though she acquired a lot of debts.

Why aren’t the customers coming? When will I finally start earning money? Why is that old man always smiling at me and offering me money?

The pressure to pay back the money for the sewing machine got bigger.  Each Wednesday, Marie was at the market, but almost nobody gave her business.

One day Marie Rose accepted the offer of that old man.  Without really realizing it, she lost her old profession and became a prostitute. Another young woman was forced to sell herself to survive.

After some time, Marie Rose became pregnant.  Little Sam was born on October 27, 2006.  His young mother survived the Cesarean well, and Marie Rose decided that it was time to go back home and start a new life.  She would work hard as a tailor and give her little son Sam a better life.

Only one week later, Marie Rose died due to post-delivery complications.  One-week-old Sam lost his mother!

Will another tiny baby die up on the hills? Will little Sam disappear from this world without having a real chance to start his life? Will the pain and misery of Rwanda never end?

Dear little Sam, welcome to our Baby Home!  Now you have enough brothers and sisters.  You, Sam Habineza, are not alone anymore.  We will take care of you and love you!

May you deeply breathe the beauty and goodness of life.
May the hills of Rwanda see you grow and become strong!
Welcome to your new family, Little Sam!

REBECCA

The sun shines with strength in the hills of Rwanda. It is a warm and dry summer. A young British medical doctor, Richard Johnson, is spending half a year at Mugonero Hospital, in the hills of Western Rwanda. His days are busy and intense but he is saving many lives and teaching a great deal to the doctors in Rwanda.

Pascal and Josefine are expecting a baby. On August 28th, 2005 Rebecca was born, over two months before her due date. Little Rebecca was very weak and tiny, only 900 grams, at birth. Josefine died just a couple of days after the delivery, perhaps due to malaria.  What will happen to Rebecca?  Will she die as well?

No. Rebecca will get another chance! Although it broke Pascal’s heart to do it, he brought Rebecca to Mugonero Hospital and abandons her there. Richard heard about the baby and decided to take care of the baby himself.

For two months, Richard did all he could to take care of the tiny baby. He fed Rebecca drop by drop. But Richard’s time in Rwanda was coming to an end. He needed to go back to Britain. “Who will take care of Rebecca?” Luckily, he was able to find a foster mother for Rebecca - Xaverine.

 This could have been the end of the story. But a couple of weeks later another mother died while delivering twins. What would happen to these babies?  They and many others should get another chance. With the precious help of friends from Amsterdam and around the world the Baby Project was born. We have now seven precious babies. They do not need to die.

 Everything started with a bold decision: “I am not living only for myself.” Thanks to you, Richard Johnson. You saved Rebecca’s life. You were willing to care and to give. Due to that attitude a life-saving action was started.  May each one of us realize the impact of our decisions. May we too choose to give and share.

 Dear Rebecca, you are our first baby. May the vitality of life reside in you. One day you will be in the position to make such decisions. May your choice be for life. Very welcome home, little Rebecca.

NOAH AND MALIK

Rain is falling upon the dry land. Nature and people welcome the beginning of the rainy season. For a long time it was dry and dusty but very soon the hills will turn green.

Viliginia works hard on the fields. She plants mainly cassava and sweet potatoes. Viliginia is not so young anymore, almost thirty. But she has not giving up the dream of finding a husband and building her own family. In April, that dream begins to seem like a reality.

 Viligina meets a handsome man called Bikorimana. They fall in love and relative soon Viligina is pregnant. Now she is the happiest woman of the hills.

It took a long time but finally her dream will become true. The year is coming to an end and Viligina is expecting to deliver soon. They walk to the nearby hospital of Kibingo, where they get incredibly good news - Viligina will have twins!!

“It was worth the long delay,” thinks Viliginia.  “I am a very fortunate woman.”

To avoid possible complications they were asked to go to a better and bigger hospital. This time they walked to Mugonero hospital. On January 26th, 2008, Viligina delivered the twins, Noah and Malik.

But the delivery was complicated and Viligina did not survive. Dear Noah and Malik know that you are the fulfillment of a dream. Your mother waited such a long time to have you both and just the idea of you brought her such happiness.

Like her, you can dare to dream and never give up. You are invited to expand your wings and fly. Soar as high as you want. You are precious and deserve only the best.  You are very welcome to your new lives. Dream and make your dreams become true. Dear Noah and Malik, welcome home.

Early every morning Bonifrida  started her daily work in the cassava and coffee fields.  One day she met Ezira, a handsome young man.  In time, Fabien Manirumua was born.  When Fabien was only three years of age his father Ezira died from AIDS.  Pretty soon the same disease struck 24-year-old Bonifrida.  As is common in Rwanda for those who suffer from AIDS, she soon found herself abandoned by her relatives.

She needed to get to a hospital as soon as possible.  Fabien took his mother to Mugonero Hospital, and stayed there with his dying mother for three months.  Then, on March 13, 2006, Bonifrida died.  Fabien stayed by his mother's side to the last.

None of the relatives came to bury her.  Nobody wanted to touch the body.  Once again Fabien found himself abandoned.  After four days of keeping the body, Fabien did something astonishing.  The nine year old boy took the body of his beloved mother and buried it with his own hands….

When I heard Fabien's story, I wept.  I could barely imagine the pain he must be feeling, and yet I saw the light of hope shinning in his eyes.  What extraordinary inner strength!

Fabien was admitted to our orphanage in March of 2006.  Fabien will never forget what happened to him as a little boy, but with your help he is looking forward to a happy and fulfilling life. Two years later Fabien appeared at my office with a little boy. Fabien is crying and pleading us to accept his brother Mugenzi in the orphanage. “Your brother?! I thought you lost your entire family!”

When Bonifrida got sick, Mugenzi - born on February 2th, 2002 - went to live with his grandmother, Belta while Fabien cared for his sick mother.

For two long years, Fabien lived at the orphanage and kept the secret about his young brother. Then Fabien got news from Grandmother Belta. She was 80 years old, poor and sick. “Now is the time to take my brother in,” thought Fabien.  He gathered courage and presented to us his young brother. Dear Mugenzi, you lost your parents and grandmother Belta can not take care anymore of you.

Now you are together with your brother Fabien. There is no need to keep the secret any longer. May you and your brother have a good life. May the sun of life shine in you both and warm up your hearts. It is a pleasure and joy to have you with us. Very welcome home, Mugenzi!

Please help the innocent children of Rwanda and contact us.

LOUISE

The coffee beans are red and ready for the harvest. Thabita, a 27-year-old mother, goes with her husband Marcel down the hill to gather the precious beans. It is indeed a time consuming job but allows them to take a break and enjoy the beauty of the land of a thousand hills.

Rwanda is a beautiful country but at the same time life here is cruel….unfair…  It looks so peaceful, but there is hatred under the surface.  Thabita’s uncle, Nyandwi, hates his brother. He has tried several times to kill Thabita’s father by poisoning and failed.
His attempts exterminate the entire family of his brother have resulted in the deaths of their four cows.

To protect themselves, Thabita and Marcel fled to Ngoma. There they were far enough from uncle Nyandwi.  After some time, Thabita got pregnant. But before she had the baby, very sad news reached them;  Nyandwi finally succeeded. Thabita’s father was dead.

The young couple went to Gishyta for the funeral. During the burial ceremony something happened.

Thabita was poisoned by her own uncle!!!

Who can do such a thing with an innocent pregnant woman? My dear Rwanda, how much pain and hatred is still in your heart? What can we do to heal your wounds?

Thabita delivered a tiny lady, Louise, and after four months of fighting for her life, Thabita died.

Marcel abandoned his little daughter. Now the old and poor grandmother became the mother of Louise. The burden became too heavy for the kind woman and in desperation she sent her daughter with little Louise to L’Esperance orphanage.

Louise spent nine months at our “baby home” and she is now the first one of our babies who is moving to the Children’s Village Kigarama.

Princesa Louise, very VERY welcome to your new home!

You may have lost your parents, but today you gained a huge family. We will hug, care for and LOVE YOU! Is maybe that what also your country needs?
Karibu to a new life Princesa Louise! Welcome to your new family!

May 2008

FLOWER JASMIN

The night is quiet. Nature plays an exquisite song. The stars shine in the darkness. The air is perfumed with the heady aroma of jasmine.  It is another evening in the hills of Rwanda, full of an astonishing mixture of joy and pain. This is a country with deep scars interwoven in the melody of endurance and perseverance.

 Day breaks.  A rebellious young boy is awake, challenging the national law. No animals are allowed to run free but for the young boy and his pig, there are no fences, borders, or limits.

The pig is just looking for food in the eternal struggle for life. Suddenly, the pig finds something different to eat - he finds a little baby!

Fragile and helpless, the baby was abandoned, crying and fighting for her life. The young boy intercedes and shoos away his pig.  “Is that really a baby?” he wonders.  “What should I do now?”  In fear he runs away, looking for help. The sun begins to rise, dancing with the clouds and spreading light, bathing the hills with warmth and color.

Nearby, some pious women are leaving the church and hear the sound of a baby crying in the bush. Is this the force of life asking for help?

Indeed a beautiful tiny flower was found. She was brought to the orphanage and was very welcome in our family.  We named her Flower Jasmin.  She was to bloom and grow among us.

But suddenly one day, she was gone. Dear Jasmin, you are gone already! We buried you on a sunny day, suffering in silent pain, the embodiment of the fragility of life.

Beautiful Jasmin, your perfume will stay in our hearts and minds. Keep blooming and shining. It was a very short moment that we shared, just a couple of weeks. But you were a soft wave in our hearts. We will never forget you. Many tender hugs to you from your Dad.

January  2008                       

EMMANUEL

The wind plays with the banana leaves. The sounds of nature echo over the hills. Another unique day in the heart of Africa.

Lorent, 29 years old, is a proud husband and father. His wife, Ranguida, stays at home taking care of their two kids. The beauty of the hills of Rwanda hides increasing hatred and jealousy in the population. An incredible tragedy soon overwhelms this tiny African country. In only three months, one million people are killed, including Lorent’s beloved Ranguida and their two children. Lorent escapes the cruel inferno but finds himself alone.

For two long years he keeps his family memories deep in his heart as he questions his ability to stay alone forever. “Should I try again?” Maybe hope will come again to his life. In time, Lorent meets a wonderful woman called Esperance and together they have two sons.

The beauty of life was shining upon them. Lorent survived the genocide and has now rebuilt a precious family life. “That is not fair,” thought some of Lorent’s neighbors. “Why should Lorent should have it better than us?” The genocide may have ended years before, but the hatred and jealousy that fueled it were still abundant. Lorent finds himself alone again after Esperance and the two children are poisoned. Rwanda, how can you be so cruel?

Lorent has lost his dear family again. But family memories remained deep in his mind. “Should I always be lonely?”  For six long years, he is.  But one day he meets Jeanette and they fall in love. Soon Jeanette is pregnant and little Emmanuel was born on January 1th, 2006. Immediately, he is a source of joy and happiness for his parents.  

Suddenly Jeanette feels sick. On November 3th, 2007 she dies, leaving behind two-year-old Emmanuel.  He is sick as well and is taken to the witch doctor.  The multiple scars that are scattered over Emmanuel’s chest and stomach are evidence of the attempts to free the little boy from the evil spirits that the local people blamed for his family’s misfortune.  In Rwanda, it is a constant struggle just to survive.

Dear Emmanuel, your father lost three wives. You lost your dear mother. It may seem that life is unfair.  But in spite of all, it is a privilege to be alive. You will have a better life. May the force and vitality of life surface from deep within you.  You are very welcome home to our home, Dear Emmanuel!   

December 2007

COLETTA AND ALOYS

It is a peaceful day on the fields. The rainy season is refreshing and welcome. Everyone is working hard to plant the crops in the green and fertile land of Rwanda.

Sengayire enjoys being a husband and a father. His family is poor but happy. But something sinister is beginning. The entire country is swept by madness during an intense and sudden genocide that brings unimaginable cruelty to the countryside.

Senagyre managed to hide in the bush to escape the killers, running for his life. His wife and three children did not escape the sentence of death. Sengaryre remains alive but he is alone. He has lost his entire family. As the years pass, he cannot forget. “Why has this happened to me?” he asks himself.   “Why is there so much pain and suffering”?

He resolves to keep going on. One day he meets a wonderful woman named Nivugire.  “May I start again?” wonders Senagyre.  “Will I have a chance at a family?”  Once again the sun shines in Senagyre’s life.  He is blessed with a new wife and two wonderful children.  Coletta and Aloys play and enjoy the golden moments of childhood.

But Nivugire feels often weak and sick. Her strength fades slowly away. There is a war waging inside her body; it is a cruel and unfair battle that she can’t help but lose against an enemy called AIDS. Before long, Sengayire finds himself widowed once again.

Life without Nivugire is not the same. There is a huge emptiness all around.  But the battle is not yet over; Sengayire finds himself once again running from a relentless enemy. But this time he can not run away - there is no bush in which he can hide.  AIDS claims another victim and the rain of orphans continues in Rwanda.

Dear Coletta and Aloys, you have lost your dear parents but we will take care of you both! There is no reason to be afraid. You are at a new home.  We will love and protect you.  You have now a chance to start again. May the beauty and goodness of life shine in you. It will be a pleasure and privilege to walk some steps with you. Welcome home!

Please contact us.

Victor Monroy, Director
L’Esperance Children’s Aid Rwanda
Children’s Village Kigarama
P.O. Box 5026 Kigali, Rwanda.
Tel. 00250/08545731
Email: lesperancerwanda@aol.com
Web: www.lesperancerwanda.org
          www.victormonroytrust.com

LITTLE CLAUDE

One day Mukamana, a young, twenty-five-year-old Rwandan woman decided to move to the neighboring country of Congo. There she got pregnant and gave birth to Claude in January, 2001. We do not know what happened to her in Congo, but she became mentally ill. After a while Mukamana came back to Rwanda with Claude. She wandered with her baby around Mugonero market for three weeks. Everyone noticed her strange behavior and kept their distance. When Mukamana decided to move on, she abandoned Claude in the market.

Claude was afraid, hungry, and tired, and he started to cry. Everyone knew who he was, but they had lives to live, and couldn’t be bothered with the baby of some mentally deranged beggar. He was left alone a whole day between piles of garbage.

But one young woman was different. When she saw Claude, her heart went out to the helpless little boy. Without knowing anything about him, she took Claude home and tried her best to care for him.

But due to poverty, Nyanzira was not able to feed him properly. Claude became sick and lost a lot of weight, so she took Claude to L’Esperance orphanage where he was welcomed and cared for.

Two years later, Mu-kamana, who appeared to be healthy, showed up at the orphanage and demanded to have her son back. Claude, now three years old, left the orphanage with his mother. After a while, Mukamana lost her sanity again and wandered like a wild animal on the wet, cold mountains with little Claude.

One day she was begging at a market in Kibuye when Claude suddenly saw the L’Esperance orphanage truck and some staff members. At the sight of familiar faces, little Claude took his chance and ran from his mother. The staff members recognized him and took him back to the orphanage. Since that day Claude has started a new and better chapter of his life. He now belongs to a big family that loves him and cares for him. Would you like to help Claude and other children like him?

LITTLE GIDIONE

It’s play time in the little village of Ngoma. The children run, jump and have lots of fun. Only one little girl, five-year-old Clemance, does not play. She would love to, but something is wrong with her legs. Clemance has polio. Many times she has gone to hospitals in Kigali, but they cannot help her. Many times she has wept about the pain in her legs and the unfairness of it all.

One day Clemance’s parents heard about a special school in Butare for handicapped children. They accepted Clemance and her parents took her to Butare where she completed her entire primary school education.

During her first year of secondary school, something happened that changed her life. She had a problem. Her parents were too poor to buy school materials for her. She needed money. So she went to Mathieu, a 40-year-old mechanic who repaired cars and bikes at that school. He agreed to help her and paid for her school materials and small expenses. But in return he demanded that Clemance give herself to him. In desperation the sixteen-year-old girl agreed.

After a little while Clemance got pregnant. She got scared and talked with Mathieu about it. He decided to keep supporting her so she continued attending the secondary school in Butare. One day Mathieu drove to Kigali for his work. He never came back. Nobody survived that car accident. Clemance lost her supporter, and now she was alone. In desperation she decided to quit school and returned back home to Ngoma.

On July 19, 2004, little Gidione was born. Gidione and his mother were in such difficulty that they ended up staying at the Nutritional Centre of Mugonero Hospital for one year. When they had to leave the nutritional center, the young handicapped mother had to beg for over a year in order to survive with her tiny baby. Many times she could not scrape together enough to eat. Gidione lost weight and got weaker and sicker. Clemance realized that their life could not keep going on like that. There was no hope or future for them together!

Just a few days ago Clemance came to L’Esperance Children’s Village and asked for help. Dear Clemance and Gidione, there is hope! There is indeed a good future for both of you. Gidione, welcome to your new home. Today you get a new family. We will take care of you. Finally your mother will be able to go to the hospital and she will get healthy. Later on she will continue secondary school, and one day you both will be together again. In spite of all the pain, misery, and tragedy you’ve experienced, there is hope. The sun of life will shine in your heart and in the heart of your mother. Never give up, little Gidione!

January 2008

 PRINCESS SUZANNE

It is quiet and peaceful up on the hills. The coffee plantations are blooming, spreading their exquisite fragrance all around. This  year, farmers are expecting a good harvest. Salatiel, 75 years old, needs to work hard to feed his family. He has planted cassava, sweet potatoes and beans. His wife, Ester, is pregnant and the baby will come soon. In spite of their poverty Salatiel and Ester are a happy couple. Salatiel lost his first wife during the civil war and genocide of 1994. He has now a second chance to build a family. His dream is granted at the beginning of the new year.

Princess Suzanne was born on January 2th, 2006. Salatiel and Ester became proud parents and began a peaceful and quiet life together. But after just seven months Ester got sick. She stayed at the hospital in Mubuga for several days.

On July 20th, 2006 a tragedy hit the family. Ester dies from malaria. Salatiel has now lost his second wife and finds himself with a seven months old baby to take care of.

Dear Suzanne, you have lost your mother and your father is too old to take care properly of you.  You suffer from frequent seizures because of your epilepsy but we will take care of you.

THREE LITTLE BROTHERS

It is early in the morning, Yozophina ( a 36 year old mother ) takes her hoe and goes to the cassava fields close to Mubuga to spend her working day together with her husband Shadaracye.

Life in the mountains of Rwanda is not easy. At home three little brothers are waiting to get something to eat, Samuel (2 years old), Dada (5 years) and Emmanuel ( 8 years of age ).

Their home is very simple, but they are together as a family. One night of April 2004 something happened that changed the life of the whole family. Yozophina suddenly died. It is hard to believe it, but the father reacted in a very strange way, he abandoned the three little boys…

Why is life sometimes so unfair and cruel?!
But in spite of all, there are still good people in the world…
A generous woman offered them food and shelter for a while. After a time that kind lady went into prison due her believes…

Once more again the little brothers were alone. Emmanuel became the bread giver of the family. He accepted all kind of little jobs to feed his brothers. A whole year long the kids did their best to barely survive…
Then the inevitable happened, little Samuel got weaker and weaker until he fell into a severe malnutrition.
Emmanuel took his sick family to Mugonero Hospital. There the Nutritional Center took care of them a whole year long.
The kids became healthier but the Nutritional Center was overcrowded. Where should they go now? To the streets again?
NO. The three little brothers found finally a new home. They can start a new life! Samuel, Dada and Emmanuel were accepted just some days ago in the Children’s Village Kigarama.
If you could see them playing and singing together with the other kids…
It warms my heart seeing Emmanuel as a child...I almost cry seeing other kids hugging him, it was as they would have been always good friends…
Emmanuel does not need to carry that huge burden anymore!!!
Their life on the streets came finally to an end! Now the little three brothers can together look forward for a much better life. Could YOU help them?